Suns @ Rockets WMD's

The Phoenix Suns are in Houston today to take on the escalating Rockets sans Yao Ming, who has been out with an injury. Before that there are some things happening with the team that need adressing.

Kurt Thomas is going to be out 4-6 weeks after hyperextending his elbow on Monday. It isn't the worst injury, he most likely will not need surgury but the elbow will be in a stabilization brace for the time being. Lucky for us this is somewhat of a minor injury to his non-shooting 'bow, I believe.

What does that mean for the Suns team who is on a ten game winning streak?

Coach Mike is going to have to tinker a little bit. I think there is no reason why we would need to bring in a player from free agency or via trade, especially when that player wouldn't be conditioned enough, they wouldn't know the system well enough and wouldn't be around long enough to actually learn it and be successful before Kurt is back. We have more than enough talented players riding the bench who can see more minutes.

I think we will see a little bit more small ball. Kurt was only playing 18 minutes per game so that's not a whole lot of floor time to make up. Honestly, half the games he was on the court no longer than 10 minutes. I do think our defense will suffer a little bit but overall I think it will be a seamless transition from what we had been doing. Injuries happen all the time and we are well prepared to adapt, even after losing one of our most solid backups and top defenders.

I think Leandro Barbosa will see more playing time possibly on the floor with Nash more often. Raja will likely slide over to the three spot a little more with the Matrix going down low to the four spot, where he will likely thrive because he won't be camped out on the perimeter jacking up hopeless threes. He will be able to concentrate more on what he does best, defense and rebounding.

This will open things up for another player in the rotation who will probably be Jumaine Jones sliding into that eighth spot where he can play small forward or power forward. He can shoot, defend and rebound and he was looking comfortable when he was in the eighth rotation spot a couple weeks ago. James Jones can also play SF, PF, or even Sg at times. Hell we could go with Jumaine at the four, James at the three, and Shawn Marion at the two. All these guys are very versatile and the extra offense they can bring should make up for the lost defense from Kurt's injury.

Here is a great article on how good of a player Amare has become and how he will likely shoulder a bigger load in Kurt's absense. A nice stat, Amare has nearly as many double double's (21) already than he had his whole 04-05 year (27). Today, he's a more complete player, better shot blocker, better defender, better rebounder, passer, shooter and just much more skilled. Assistant coach Phil Weber on Amare, Shawn and the fast break:

"If you're looking at Shawn (Marion) and Amare running at you on each side and Steve (Nash) with the ball in the middle, that's a defender's nightmare," Weber said. "That's when you want to punt."

Speaking of Shawn Marion, Kelly Dwyer of Sports Illustrated fame has named his all-defensive team so far in the season and it's flat out criminal that Shawn Marion isn't mentioned. Shawn should at least be on the all-defensive first team if not defensive player of the year.

The Matrix routinely defends four positions with great flexibility and is one of the leagues best rebounders. Too many times this year the Suns have faced a hot guard who is knocking down jumpers continuously and Coach Mike goes to Shawn who quickly shuts them down. Sometimes Shawn even starts the game guarding an Allen Iverson or Deron Williams to disrupt the game. He's quick enough to defend the point and he can jump high and fast enough to bang down low against bigs.

The game today against Houston will likely be tough and a transition period for us without Kurt Thomas. I'd like to see Jumaine Jones and Marcus Banks get a shot at some meaningful minutes. I don't think we will have too tough of a time against T-Mac and the Rockettes because we always seem to be able to handle them easily.

Let's win one for Kurt!

UPDATE: The omnipresent Kelly Dwyer responds! Kelly writes:

I felt horrible about leaving Marion off. You have
four forward slots, and even though I'm sticking with
my choices, I'm also thinking while putting it
together that Shawn is better and more versatile
defensively than the whole forward lot save KG. The
Suns are 9th in def. eff. and it's mainly because of
Marion.

Word. Score one for ya boy. I'm looking out for you, Matrix. Maybe next episode Mr. Dwyer will have Marion in his list by the time the awards are handed out. Shawn Marion, the next Defensive Player of the Year! Thank you Mr. Dwyer.